Spaulding community shows support for stroke victim

Thursday

Jun 19, 2014 at 3:15 AM

By John Nolanjnolan@fosters.com

ROCHESTER — Scores of students, all wearing red, gathered in Spaulding High School gymnasium for a group photograph, last Friday. It was a heartwarming show of support for Junior Katie Dow’s mother, Rebecca, who is currently in Mass General Hospital in Boston, recovering from a stroke she suffered on June 8.

“Red is the color for stroke and heart disease awareness,” said Katie Dow. “Because of this, I asked my school and other members of the community in Rochester, and those in her networks of friends, to wear red on Friday, June 13. I want to raise awareness in our community because this really could happen to anyone with no explanation other than that it resembles a freak accident.”

Katie said she would deliver the group picture to her mom in Boston and hang it up in her hospital room.

“This Red Day which I have called “Red For Becky” has also spread across social media through Facebook, Twitter and Instagram with the hashtag #RedforBecky,” said Katie Dow, speaking last Friday. “Not only do I hope to show her the support she has, but to also make my mother proud when she recovers.”

A stroke occurs when the blood supply to part of the brain is interrupted or severely reduced, depriving brain tissue of oxygen and food. Within minutes, brain cells begin to die.

Describing her 40-year-old mother’s stroke, to which she was alerted when her mother fell out of bed on that Sunday morning, Katie Dow said, “I had to dial 911, while my father, Brian, aided my mother, who was unresponsive. She was clearly impaired and paralyzed on her left side. At first we thought the injury was from her initial fall out of bed but we were very mistaken.”

Becky Dow was taken to Frisbie where doctors determined she needed advanced care, so she was transferred by ambulance to Mass General Hospital to the Neuroscience ICU.

“There, her nurse had noticed her pupils were not dilating when exposed to light. This is the most direct alert for excessive swelling in the brain also known as intracranial pressure (ICP). She was then rushed into an emergency surgical procedure known as a hemicraniectomy, a process that removes part or half of the skull to alleviate the pressure within the brain. This procedure had saved her life,” said Katie Dow.

“She may not be able to communicate but she can hear and recognize our voices which is a good sign. It is too early to tell for much of the future but the doctors are planning her recovery process,” continued Katie. “I am trying to stay positive and show my mother all the support she has from her community even if she cannot understand it yet.”

Brian Dow, who attended the group photo at Spaulding, said that doctors said his wife had a condition called pernicious anemia, a condition where people can’t absorb enough vitamin B12 from food. This is because they lack intrinsic (in-TRIN-sik) factor, a protein made in the stomach. A lack of this protein leads to vitamin B12 deficiency. This led to her sudden and unexpected stroke.

“The key is to have a blood check. It’s a hereditary condition, and very difficult to diagnose,” said Brian Dow, adding that his daughter will be in line for the precautionary checkup.

The Dow family is blessed with good health insurance, as Becky Dow works at Liberty Mutual.

While some strokes are attributed to smoking, or a diet containing high levels of cholesterol and saturated fats, Becky Dow is a non-smoker, a healthy eater and not markedly overweight.

Another attendee at the group photograph was Katie’s cheerleading coach, Holly Dupuis.

“This hit home with me, because I had a stroke when I was 25,” she said. “It is really comforting when the whole community pulls together. I felt all alone, so for Katie to talk about it is a beautiful thing.”

Dupuis, who works in the medical field, said that after heart disease and cancer, a stroke is the number three cause of death in women.

“There has been a huge rise in the number of women under 40 with strokes,” she said, noting that stress and anxiety were contributing factors, as well as other conditions

“The younger you are, the better the chances of recovery,” she said.

Mass General Hospital has a strong reputation for restoring the health of stroke victims.

To that list can be added a blood test for people with a history of strokes in their family.

The latest news on Becky Dow’s condition came from her daughter on Tuesday morning, and it was hopeful.

“They take her in and out of sedation throughout the day now and she is progressing a little each day which is comforting,” said Katie Dow. “She sometimes acknowledges us with a thumbs up or by raising her eyebrow at us.